


Swim Team

by My_Hearts_Song



Category: Original Work
Genre: Complete, Crush, Explicit Language, Father-Son Relationship, First Relationship, High School, Love Confessions, M/M, Nervous, No Sex, Shy, Swim Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-09
Updated: 2012-05-09
Packaged: 2017-11-05 02:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/401358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Hearts_Song/pseuds/My_Hearts_Song
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny joins the swim team at the encouragement of his father. He really isn't very good at it, but his new friend Chris may just make the experience worth it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Try-Outs

**Author's Note:**

> This is an original work I wrote a few years ago. I think it's cute, so I decided to add it here as well.

Joining the swim team turned out to be the best decision of Danny’s life. 

But it didn’t start out that way. 

After the first practise, he had muttered to himself the entire walk home, wet, cold and humiliated. Why the fuck had he decided this would be a good idea? 

Oh, yeah, that’s right; his father. ‘Join a sport! Get that body in shape! You know your old man was star quarterback, don’t ya?’

‘Yeah, dad, I know,” Danny would sigh, usually pushing his food around his plate. Then Dan Senior would launch into tales of his former glory while everyone at the table pretended to listen. 

Now, the swim team wasn’t exactly the sport his dad was thinking about when he had told Danny to get involved, but Danny was already expecting so much. Still, he would take whatever he would get from his youngest son. Danny had never shown the same interest his brothers had in sports, which left Dan in a bit of a pickle in how to relate to his son. He tried to get him to help fix up an old car, figuring it was something the both of them could just pick up as they went along. But that old red Mazda still sat in the driveway, neglected and if he was being honest with himself, probably never going to run again unless one of his older boys took an interest in it. He worried about the shy, quiet boy (not that he would ever admit that; his pride, ya know), but he simply had no way to start up a conversation. If only Betty was still alive to help him out with raising the kids. Gone too young, she was. She would know exactly what to say to Danny.

Seizing the opportunity, Dan was waiting, trying to appear to be casually watching the news, when Danny walked in the door. “Danny boy, how did try-outs go?” he asked enthusiastically. He pulled his lumbering body off the couch, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement to finally be able to talk to his son about something.

Danny gave him a look, flat lipped and unimpressed. “Horrible, dad. Can I just go take a shower before you interrogate me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Ah, well, alright then, son,” Dan replied, his enthusiasm quickly replaced by disappointment. “Go ahead.” He turned around and dropped himself back onto the couch, staring blankly at the screen. 

Danny sighed in irritation, before walking over in front of his dad. He pushed a couple empty beer cans off the coffee table and sat down. “The couch’s name is Chris Kracken-something. I think it’s German. As far as I can tell, he’s a real SOB and none of the other guys like him. Speaking of other guys, there was only about 5. So, even though I sucked compared to them, I’m probably still gonna be allowed on the team because there’s a mandatory minimum of 8. The entire time the couch was bitching about how people don’t ‘appreciate the art of swimming’,” he made an exaggerated face while saying this, “and how we’ll need two more guys. Oh, and I learned we have to wear fucking speedos which shows your junk to everybody and the water is colder than a snowman’s tits. So, don’t know if I wanna go back,” he spouted off. He had originally only planned to tell his dad the bare minimum to satisfy the old man’s curiosity, but his frustration about the whole thing got the better than him. 

Dan just sat back, listening and grinning. “So ya don’t enjoy it, huh? Well, ya know football try-outs are still happening next week.” 

Danny rolled his eyes, “Dad, I’m not playing football. I’ve told you this a billion times. Fuck, I’d rather wear a speedo and look like I’ve got a tiny dick than get manhandled by a bunch of guys three times the size of me.” He stood up, not wanting to have this discussion again. “Gonna take a shower. What’s for dinner?” 

“Mike’s picking up pizza,” Dan replied, staring after his son as he left the room. Yeah, Danny was smaller than all the other guys, but that would change when he started working out every day with the team, get motivated and start to build some muscles. Running around all day would make him eat more, too. 

As he stood under the boiling water, allowing it to raise his body temperature to a more comfortable level, he thought back on the day. The other swimmers had beat him by full minutes, none of this ‘fix your time by a couple seconds’ bullshit you see in Lifetime movies. Then this one guy, Jason, had been a fucking douche about it, saying they would be better off as a blow-up doll for a teammate. But then...then this other guy (Danny didn’t catch his name), had stood up for him. Well, kind of. He asked Jason if he would be willing to sacrifice his for the team then. The other guys laughed and Jason got all bitchy about it, like a fucking whiner. But the smile the other guy sent him as he walked into the change room made him think it had been for his benefit. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.


	2. The Invitation

Somehow, the couch had wrangled two other boys onto the swim team, so it could actually be called a team. They definitely were not happy about it though and they let it be known. The only positive thing was they were worse than Danny, so he was starting to look better; especially because he didn’t whine the way they did. 

Still, it came as a shock when he was invited to a party by Chris, the boy who had defended him the first day.

“Really?” Danny asked, scrunching his nose in confusion as he dried himself off with a towel. 

“Yeah, definitely,” Chris responded, nodding his head. He smiled at Danny hopefully. 

Still, Danny felt like something was up. “Why?” he asked, a tad defensive. He had been tricked into going to a “party” before; where it turned out he was the entertainment. 

Chris just shrugged one shoulder, ducking his head a little. “I dunno, thought it would be fun. Listen, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Like, I was just wondering, ya know?”

A little embarrassed now and looking into Chris’ sincere green eyes, he decided to trust. However, if this was another fucking trick, he wasn’t just gonna sit there and take it like he had before. “Where did you say it was again?” he asked, feeling shy. 

“365 Elgin street. It’s a duplex, so the party is around the back. You gonna come?” Chris asked, looking like an eager little puppy. 

Shrugging and a small smile twisting his lips, he said, “Sure. I don’t have any plans that night, so...” 

“Sweet! So, I’ll see you there,” Chris said, grinning broadly. Danny returned his smile with a shyer one and waved as the taller boy walked away. Then, feeling happy someone seemed so excited to have him come to a party, he quickly dressed and practically ran home. He was definitely gonna mention this on his blog.


	3. The Party

The night had come and Danny had spent about an hour trying to decide what to wear. He didn’t want to look overdressed, like he had picked out someone specifically for the party (which he totally did), but he didn’t want to look sloppy either. Maybe, just maybe, he would have fun tonight. Make some new friends, even. 

His were getting a little stale. He wanted something other than video games and pussy to talk about. If John said “dude, check out her tits!” one more time, he was gonna fucking murder that horny kid.

Biting his lip nervously, he knocked on the door. He took a second to look down at his clothing choices, regular jeans and a striped tee-shirt. Fuck, was his fly undone? He looked down further, trying to see without blatantly checking. 

“Um, you okay?” a female voice asked sceptically. 

His head shot up and before he could stop it, he was blushing. A pretty girl with a bow in her hair was looking at him like he was nuts. “Uh, yeah, I’m good. Um, hi.” He smiled awkwardly. 

“Hi, I’m Jen, you are?” she asked, not too politely. She clearly thought he was a freak already and he hadn’t even gotten through the door yet.

“Oh, um, I’m Danny,” he said, feeling awkward and regretting he came. This was definitely not an ideal start.

But as soon as he said his name, her face lit up. “Oh, hi Danny! Chris told me all about you. Come on in,” she said, as friendly as could be. 

He got suspicious again, but followed her into the hallway. “What did he say about me?” he asked, trying to sound casual about it.

“Hmm, what?” she asked, turning back to him. 

“Um, I was just wondering what he said about me,” he said, suddenly nervous. Did he really want to know what this guy he thought was his friend was saying about him?

“Oh, nothing really. Just how you really have potential as a swimmer and he says you’re shy but you seem really interesting,” she said, with a wave of dismissal. “Did you find the house okay?” 

But even as she remained super casual, he got a weird feeling that wasn’t all Chris had said about him. He wondered if he was just too paranoid. Chris seemed like a really nice guy, after all. “Yeah, I found it alright,” he responded, although he felt the question was a little odd. If he was here, obviously he found it. 

“Good. I just know it’s a little out of the way, so I was debating putting up signs or something,” she said with a little giggle. “But since you found it, I won’t bother. Help yourself to any drinks or snacks in the kitchen.” 

He knew a dismissal when he heard one, so he thanked her and moved into the next room. There were people he only vaguely recognized chatting on couches, but so far, it wasn’t crowded at all. It sounded like a lot of people had yet to arrive though. Feeling uncomfortable, he moved into the next room, which happened to be the kitchen. He smiled when he saw Chris there, pouring a drink. At least it was someone he knew, then maybe Chris would introduce him to some of the other people. 

“I hear you’re telling stories about me,” he said, his voice teasing. 

Chris turned around, already grinning. “Hey, you made it!” he said happily. 

Danny nodded, “Yeah, figured it could be fun.”

Laughing, Chris replied, “I’ll make sure you have fun. Then maybe I could even convince you to hang out with us again. Now, what was this about stories?”

“I hear you’ve been telling stories about me to Jen,” he said, smiling.

But Chris went white as a ghost, his eyes getting wide. “Um, listen, I can explain,” he said nervously.

“It’s okay,” Danny said, shrugging a shoulder nonchalantly.

“I...I was gonna tell you, but I was just waiting for the right time, you know? Listen, I totally understand if you hate me,” he said, the paleness of his face suddenly   
being replaced by a flush of red. He looked down at his feet.

“Chris, it’s okay. I don’t care,” he said, smiling and thinking _‘I didn’t know he would over-react like this.’_

“Serious? You don’t mind?” Chris asked, looking hopeful. He bit his bottom lip, just enough for it to indent slightly.

“No, why would I?” he asked with a laugh. 

“Well, some guys really freak out, ya know. I mean, the ones that find out. I don’t usually tell them I like them unless I feel like maybe I’ve got a chance or something,”   
Chris said, his smile turning shy. He gave a little laugh and glanced over at the drinks sitting on the counter, a witness to his confession.

“What?” Danny asked, confused and startled. He must have heard wrong or something. 

“What?” Chris repeated, his smile falling. “I-she-you said-“

Jen walked into the kitchen then, causing both of their heads to turn. She took one look at their panicked faces, smiled awkwardly, then turned to leave. Jacob and Steph could wait to get their drinks, then. She was stopped by Chris grabbing her wrist. She turned to look at him, annoyed. 

“You told him,” he said, insistent. The poor boy looked absolutely horror struck.

“Yeah, I did tell him what a great swimmer you thought he is,” she replied pointedly. She gave him a look: ‘what the fuck is happening?’

He went pale again. “Oh fuck.” 

She glanced over at Danny, who just looked confused more than anything, then back at her silently panicking best friend. “Okay, I think you two need to go somewhere private and talk. You know, because this is where the drinks are and this is where people will be walking in and out of, interrupting you. So, get out of the kitchen and go to my room.” She gave him a stern look and a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Then, she forcibly turned him towards the stairs and pushed him. He stumbled a bit but kept walking. Danny looked between her and Chris/zombie a few times, his expression unsure. So she gave him the same stern look and pointed to the stairs silently. When he started walking, she smirked to herself, proud. And who said boys were complicated.

Silently following Chris up the stairs, his heart racing, he wondered what the hell was happening. Chris liked him. Chris _liked_ him. Chris liked _him_ , Daniel Junior, the boy who hadn’t been kissed until the tenth grade and even that was a girl with braces and a tendency to snort like a pig. He didn’t know what was crazier, that Chris was gay or that Chris seemed to have very poor taste. 

As soon as they got to Jen’s bedroom, Chris turned to him and talked so quickly it was hard to understand him. “Look, I like you. I was gonna wait to tell you but I fucked that up, so I’m just gonna do it now so I don’t spend the next week wondering what you’re thinking and if I maybe had a chance and fucked that up too. I know I probably don’t because I don’t think you’re gay or whatever, but I have to try because you are just so fucking cute and I want to kiss you.” He took a deep breath, the first since he started speaking. 

Danny was quiet for a minute, pressing his lips together and shuffling from foot to foot. He didn’t look at Chris. 

“Please just say something, even if it’s you think I’m disgusting or whatever. I can take it. I just need you to say something,” Chris pleaded. To his shame, he felt tears start to prick the back of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Well, at least in front of Danny.

“I don’t think you’re disgusting,” Danny said quietly. He scratched his bicep absentmindedly, as he chewed his lip and stared at Chris’ shoes.

Taking a deep breath and thinking, _‘this is it, now or never’_ , Chris took a step closer. “You don’t?” he replied quietly. He tried to decipher any emotions on Danny’s face. 

Danny shook his head a little from side to side, causing a piece of hair to fall to the middle of his forehead. He moved it away impatiently. “No, I don’t.” 

“Oh,” was all Chris said, as he kept slowly inching forward. He knew Danny was watching him, but still the other boy didn’t tell him to stop or give him any hints. He was gonna need all his confidence for this. “Well, do you, ah, maybe like me too?” he asked, nervous and uncertain and feeling stupid. 

Danny finally looked up at him then and the turmoil in his blue eyes was enough to give Chris hope. He took a final step forward, so he was only 5 inches from Danny’s face, close enough to feel his uneven breathes. 

“Maybe,” Danny whispered, before he shrugged one shoulder and looked away. Like it was nothing, like he confessed to liking a guy every day, like he wasn’t completely confused and twisted up inside and scared, so fucking scared, because he _knew_ , knew if Chris kissed him right now, he wouldn’t be able to pretend anymore and ohGoddadwillhateme... 

“Hey,” Chris said, alarmed as Danny started to shake. He stepped even closer and hesitated before wrapping his arms around Danny’s lean waist, pulling him close and rubbing his hand down his back to comfort him. When Danny wrapped his arms around Chris’ stomach and sobbed into his neck, Chris just held him. A soft kiss on his temple just made Danny cry harder. So instead, Chris just kept rubbing his back and repeating, “I know, baby, I know...”


	4. The Couple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Months After The Party

Danny laughed as he jumped out of the pool. “You’re just saying that because you want to get lucky tonight,” he teased. 

Chris walked over to him, grinning, then wrapped a towel around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “No. Well, yes, I do want to get lucky later, but it is also true you’re really improving,” he smirked and wrapped his arms around Danny’s waist. His hands dipped lower, cupping Danny’s ass, clad only in a tight red Speedo. “I ever tell you how sexy you look in these?” he murmured against Danny’s neck. He bit at the wet skin playfully. 

“Hey, none of that. We’re still at school. And yes, you have. Now tell me about my swimming,” Danny insisted, taking a step back. He started towelling off. 

Chris sighed, “If we must.” He smirked.

“You’re my self-appointed couch, so yes, we must. C’mon, I wanna get better.” There was a competition coming up and his dad was coming to see him swim. He wanted to impress him.

“Alright, come sit down,” Chris said, walking over to the chairs they had placed over there earlier. He sat down, opposite of Danny so he could see his face. Then he watched as the younger boy threw his towel in the bin and sat down. They smiled at each other, then discussed Danny’s technique for a couple minutes.

“Honestly, you aren’t going to come first place at Gallagher, but I can say with confidence you could place in the top 5,” Chris said, smiling when Danny lit up. He could tell this meant a lot to Danny, with his dad being there and all. 

“Well, I had some good coaching,” Danny said shyly. 

“Yes, you did,” Chris agreed, smirking. “Of course, you know you’re going to be under me, world’s best couch, in the competition.”

Danny laughed, and then his expression turned coy. “Well, I do enjoy being under you,” he said, a seductive note entering his voice. Chris blinked, a little shocked, but grinning like a fool nonetheless. He was still trying to get used to this new, sexually explicit Danny; and having a fucking amazing time doing it.

“What am I going to do with you?” Chris teased, leaning forward and placing his forearms on the back of the chair. 

“Well...you could kiss me,” Danny suggested, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

“Hmm, such a chore. Why do you ask these things of me?” Chris said, but he was already moving his hands down and leaning forward.

“Because I like torturing you,” Danny responded with a laugh. He leaned forward as well, eager to feel Chris’ smooth lips on his, wondering how he had ever gotten so lucky.

Yes, joining the swim team turned out to be the best decision of Danny’s life. 

Who cares if it didn’t start out that way?

All that mattered were Chris’ lips meeting his and taking him to another world, a world of passion and romance and love.


End file.
